19-letter words containing s, t, a, c, o
- autoerotic asphyxia — asphyxia caused by intentionally strangling oneself while masturbating in order to intensify the orgasm through reduced oxygen flow to the brain.
- avogadro's constant — the number of atoms or molecules in a mole of a substance, equal to 6.022 52 × 1023
- axiomatic semantics — (theory) A set of assertions about properties of a system and how they are effected by program execution. The axiomatic semantics of a program could include pre- and post-conditions for operations. In particular if you view the program as a state transformer (or collection of state transformers), the axiomatic semantics is a set of invariants on the state which the state transformer satisfies. E.g. for a function with the type: sort_list :: [T] -> [T] we might give the precondition that the argument of the function is a list, and a postcondition that the return value is a list that is sorted. One interesting use of axiomatic semantics is to have a language that has a finitely computable sublanguage that is used for specifying pre and post conditions, and then have the compiler prove that the program will satisfy those conditions. See also operational semantics, denotational semantics.
- backward somersault — a somersault performed in a backward direction with the legs leading the rest of the body
- balance of payments — A country's balance of payments is the difference, over a period of time, between the payments it makes to other countries for imports and the payments it receives from other countries for exports.
- ballistocardiograph — an instrument that records the slight recoil of the body, while on a special bed, caused by the contractions of the heart: used to measure cardiac pumping power and the elasticity of the aorta
- barometric pressure — atmospheric pressure as indicated by a barometer
- basic object system — (programming) (BOS) A C-callable library that implements the notion of object and which uses Tcl as its interpreter for interpreted methods (you can have "compiled" methods in C, and mix compiled and interpreted methods in the same object, plus lots more). You can subclass and mix in existing objects using BOS to extend, among other things, the set of tk widgets. BOS is a class-free object system, also called a prototype-based object system; it is modelled loosely on the Self system from Stanford University. Version 1.31 by Sean Levy <[email protected]>.
- be burnt to a crisp — If something is burnt to a crisp, it is completely burnt.
- behavioral genetics — an interdisciplinary field studying the effects of genetics and hereditary factors on animal and human behavior.
- bicarbonate of soda — Bicarbonate of soda is a white powder which is used in baking to make cakes rise, and also as a medicine for your stomach.
- bill of particulars — an itemized statement of claims or counterclaims provided to the opposing party of a lawsuit
- binocular disparity — the small differences in the positions of the parts of the images falling on each eye that results when each eye views the scene from a slightly different position; these differences make stereoscopic vision possible
- black forest gateau — a chocolate sponge cake containing morello cherries and whipped cream, with a topping of chocolate icing
- blackstrap molasses — the molasses remaining after the maximum quantity of sugar has been extracted from the raw material
- blue stellar object — any of a class of blue celestial objects, at one time thought to be stars, that do not emit appreciable radio waves. Abbreviation: BSO.
- bracket abstraction — (compiler) An algorithm which turns a term into a function of some variable. The result of using bracket abstraction on T with respect to variable v, written as [v]T, is a term containing no occurrences of v and denoting a function f such that f v = T. This defines the function f = (\ v . T). Using bracket abstraction and currying we can define a language without bound variables in which the only operation is monadic function application. See combinator.
- business accounting — the keeping of detailed accounts relating to a business or businesses
- buster brown collar — a medium-sized, starched collar with rounded edges, lying flat on the shoulders, worn by women and girls.
- cairngorm mountains — a mountain range of NE Scotland: part of the Grampians. Highest peak: Ben Macdui, 1309 m (4296 ft); designated a national park in 2003
- camouflage passport — a passport from a non-existent country intended to conceal the bearer's true nationality (from hijackers, kidnappers, etc)
- cannot help oneself — to be the victim of circumstances, a habit, etc.
- cape-disappointment — Cape, a cape in SW Washington state, projecting into the Pacific Ocean on the N of the mouth of the Columbia River.
- captain abstraction — The champion of the principles of abstraction and modularity, who protects unwary students on MIT's course 6.001 from the nefarious designs of Sergeant Spaghetticode and his vile concrete programming practices. See also spaghetti code.
- captain of industry — You can refer to the owners or senior managers of industrial companies as captains of industry.
- captains courageous — a novel (1897) by Rudyard Kipling.
- carbon steel piping — Carbon steel piping is pipes made of steel with carbon as the main alloying component, used for transporting fluids.
- cash-flow statement — a financial statement that shows a company's cash disbursements and receipts over a given period
- cask of amontillado — a short story (1846) by Edgar Allan Poe.
- cast one's lot with — one of a set of objects, as straws or pebbles, drawn or thrown from a container to decide a question or choice by chance.
- castelnuovo-tedesco — Mario [mah-ryaw] /ˈmɑ ryɔ/ (Show IPA), 1895–1968, U.S. composer, born in Italy.
- catch someone's eye — If something catches your eye, you suddenly notice it.
- cathodoluminescence — luminescence caused by irradiation with electrons (cathode rays)
- celestial longitude — the angular distance measured eastwards from the vernal equinox to the intersection of the ecliptic with the great circle passing through a celestial body and the poles of the ecliptic
- central reservation — The central reservation is the strip of ground, often covered with grass, that separates the two sides of a major road.
- cerebral thrombosis — formation of a clot or other blockage in one of the blood vessels of the brain, often followed by neurologic damage; a type of stroke.
- chamber of deputies — the lower house of the legislature of certain countries, as Italy.
- champagne socialist — a professed socialist who enjoys an extravagant lifestyle
- characteristic root — a scalar for which there exists a nonzero vector such that the scalar times the vector equals the value of the vector under a given linear transformation on a vector space.
- chassis dynamometer — A chassis dynamometer is a piece of test equipment fitted with rollers for the wheels of a vehicle, that is capable of providing drive input and measuring output such as power and torque at the wheels.
- chemical castration — the use of drugs to reduce libido
- chinese tallow tree — tallow tree.
- cholecystolithiasis — The presence of a gallstone specifically in the gall bladder.
- choledocholithiasis — The presence of gallstones in the common bile duct.
- christian democracy — the beliefs, principles, practices, or programme of a Christian Democratic party
- christian socialist — a member of any of certain European political parties advocating a form of social organization based on Christian and socialistic principles.
- christmas pantomime — pantomime (def 5).
- chromoblastomycosis — Long-term fungal infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue.
- claims investigator — A claims investigator is a person who is employed by an insurance company to obtain information necessary to evaluate a claim.
- claims notification — Claims notification is the process of informing an insurance company that a loss has occurred and that the policyholder intends to ask for money as a result.